Pierbe eymobd jay



(No Model.)

P. E.'JAY.

PROTECTOR FOR WATER PIPES AGAINST FREEZING.. No. 299,392.

Patented May 27, 1884.

N. PETERS, Pmmum r mn Walhinglun DV 0 STATES PATENT rrifi PIERRE EYMORD JAY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PROTECTOR FOR WATER PIPES AGAINST FREEZING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 299,392, dated May 27, 1884.

' Application filed June 4, 1883. (No model.)

$0 at whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, PIERRE EYMoRD JAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Protector for Watenlipes against Freezing, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the protection of water-pipes against injury from the freezing of the water contained in them and the object of my invention is to provide means whereby, when the temperature has fallen to a point at which there is danger of the water freezing in the pipes, a passage shall be automatically opened and the water shall be allowed to flow through the pipes, and when the temperature has risen above the point of danger the passage shall be automatically closed and the flow shall be stopped. I attain this object by the devices shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents the devices in position upon a building. Fig. 2 is a detail drawing showing the service-pipe, waste-valve and waste-pipe, the contracting rod with its adjusting-screws, and the bell-crank and connect- .ing-rod by which motion is communicated.

Fig: 3 is a top view of the bell-crank. Fig. l is the, connection between bellcrank and con necting-rod to valve.

A is a water-pipe-of a house.

B is a valve in that pipe in the form of an ordinary check-valve, with a stem by which it can be drawn open, when the water in the pipe is allowed to escape through the wastepipe D, and a spring, B, by which it is held to its seat when not so drawn upon.

0 is a rod which expands and contracts freely under the influence of heat and cold, and is connected by the bellcrank E and the connecting-rod F, also liable to contraction, to the valve 13. The rod 0 may be of vmetal, or may be of any other material which expands and contracts under changes of temperature, and is thus equivalent thereto but it is preferably of metal, as being less liable to be broken, and, of the metals, preferably of copper, as expanding and contracting most freely.

G is a weight upon an arm extending from the bell-crank: E, by which the rod 0 is held extended. The rods 0 and F are furnished with adj usting-screwscc f f, by whicha proper tension may be put upon them. YVhen the temperature falls to thepoint at which the apparatus is set to work, the rods, contracting, held at their farther end, draw upon the valve B and open it, and so allow the water in the service-pipe A. to escape through the waste pipe D. The rods may be held by a support fixed to the building at their farther end, or by a support extending from the bell-crank or from the valve, in which case the opera tions would be effected by differential contraction. If the temperature continues to fall, the rods further contract, and the valve is more opened, and a more free waste is established. \Vhen the temperature rises above the fixed point, the rods expand, the valve closes, and the waste stops.

The protector operates in two ways. It is a well-known fact that water in motion will remain liquidat a lower temperature than water at rest, and by opening the valve the water in the pipes is put in motion whenever there is dangervof freezing, and the colder. the weather the more the valve is opened and the more rapid the motion. The pipes are further protected by the fact that the colder water in the pipes is constantly removed, and its place is supplied by warmer water from the main, which in turn is removed before it has had time to cool to the point of danger. The valve is put upon the pipe in such position as circumstances may require. If, for instance, the danger from. frost is in the cellar only, the pipes above being kept warm by the heat in the house, the valve is put in any convenient position above the cellar, and when opened it will establish a flow through the pipes in the cellar, and so protect them. XVhether the valve be opened or closed, the service-pipes are always in working order, and the watersupply, whether above or below the valve, is not interfered with, as the pipes above the valve remain full of water unless the main pressure is not sufficient to keep them full against the waste. If the whole system of pipes in the building is liable to be frozen, the valve is placed at the extremity of the system, and all branches are connected to that point, so that the opening of the valve establishes a flow through all the pipes, and thus protects all, in which case, also, the watersupply to the building is not affected.

Theoperative connecting-rod is shown outside the building, while the pipes are shown inside; but the rod may be inside the building with the pipes, and may be connected to the valve-stem directly instead of through the medium of the bell-crank, as shown, by which the motion is increased.

I am aware that devices operated by the expansion and contraction of metal have been constructed and applied to purposes of heating and ventilation, and I do not claim herein the use of any such devices for such purposes.

I am also aware that a device has been used in connection with water-pipes whereby, upon the contraction of a bar by cold, a weight was disengaged from a fastening and allowed .to fall, which weight, being upon an arm attached closed the pipe and opened a waste, through which the water in the pipe above it vwas al lowed to escape, by which device, while such protection of the pipe was automatically performed, its restoration to its proper function required to be manually accomplished, and in the meantime the water-supply to the building was entirely cut off. I do not claim the use of such device. I r

I claim as my invention In combination with the watersupply pipes of a building, a waste-valve and a rod of metal subject to changes of temperature, whereby it may contract or expand, constructed and arranged so that, upon the falling of the temperature below a predetermined point, the valve will be automatically opened, and automatically closed upon the restoration of the normal temperature, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

PIERRE EYMORD JAY.

WVitnesses:

R. T. HAINns,

FREDERICK B. VAN VORST. 

